Plastic article



R. V. MATTISON PLASTIC ARTICLE Apra 1,4 1930.

original Filed Mar'h 6, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet AprilI l, 1930. AR. v.NiA'ri-asmm PLASTIC ARTICLE Original Filed March 6, 11,926 5 sheetssheet 2 n mvemoz Mani VMa'fz April I', 1930. R. v. MATTlsoN PLASTICARTICLE Original Filed March 6, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 pril 1,1930. R. v.MA'rTnsoN PLASTIC ARTICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet -4 Original Filed March 6,1926'4 PLASTIC ARTICLE Original iied March 6;' 1926 5 -shetsheet 45vwmboz [n/ard 1.7 Matti/Jn www Patented Apr. l, 19301 PATENT orticaRICHARD v. MA'rrIsoN, or AMBLER, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNon ToAMBLnn'AsBns'ros COMPANY, A CORPORATION or `ianNNsYLvANIA PLASTIC.ARTICLE Original application filed March, 1926, Serial No. 92,730.Divided and .this application 22, 1926. Serial-No. 156,423.

1 cle be varying or irregular, as for instance,

in the case of shingles, where it is advantageous to have a taper in thelong direction from thinness at one end to relative thickness at theother. The exposed ends of the Ashingles are thus increased in thicknesswithout adding greatly tothe thickness of the overlaid portions and theshingle has greater strength and durability and imparts a lessV flat andmore desirable appearance to the roof as a Whole.

It is also often advantageous in appearance to give to the exposedportion of the shingle a roughened, irregular form and avoid the usualplain, straight-line effects. lVith the shingle of this invention thethickened end lends itself readily to this roughening effect whendesired and is adapted to provide the extra material for irregularedging and surfacing. y v The object of this invention is to provide ashingle or the like of irregular or tapered form and which may beroughened to give a desired final effect. A further object of theinvention is to' provide a method and apparatus for producing thearticle from plastic material.

A further object is to provide improved means whereby the generaloutline of each article may be effected while the machine is inContinuous operation. A more specific object ofthe invention istoprovide improved vacuum means for'forming the article into substantiallythe desired shape whatever it may be, and to provide the article with avery dense resistant surface.

A further object is to provide means for separat-ing the formed' articlefrom the forming mechanism and for conveyingl the formed article -in itsplastic state after being discharged from the forming mechanism. Otherobjects are to provide means for compressing the plastic article, and toprovide led December improved means for scoring, or 'otherwise marking,the .surface thereof should this be desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved compositionfor forming such articles, which consists generally of asbestos fibre,hydraulic cement, sand, preferably sharp white sand, and Water,preferably warm. When suitably mixed, this composition forms ajelly-like substance, consisting` of small globulesl ofy colloidal'cement and fibres. In order to obtain the best results the fibres mustbe forced into these small globules, and this is accomplished to aCertain extent not only by the final pressing rolls, but by my, improvedmachine this action is somewhat initially obtained .by the suctionaction and also by the pressing rollers and belt which cooperate withthe drum periphery. il have found that this composition not onlyproduces a strong durable shingle of this type at low Cost, but isalsoparticularly adaptable to be formed into the desired shingleautomatically by depositing a wet mixture or slurry onto a moving belt.

` In addition to the foregoing objects, other objects ofmy'invention-are to provide certain novel features of construction andarrangement of parts which will be more apparent from the followingdescription of the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a sideelevation ofthe'shin le forming mechanism and the. conveyor ortransferring the same to other mechanism not shown. v

Fig.l 2 is a plan'view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken substantially on theline 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 isa section from the periphery ofthe drum showing the filteringcloth and cords thereon, this section being taken substantial- 1yparallel to the drum axis, as for instance,

on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 isa fragmentary circumferential.

loo

' viou'sly noted.

uum control valve mechanism taken substantially on the line 7--7 of Fig.2;

Fig. 8 is a section of the valve mechanism taken substantially on thelines 8-8 of Figs. 2 and 7;

Fig. 9 is a side elevationV of the pressing rollers and shingle scoringmechanism;

Fig. 10 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 11 is one form of a shingle;

Fig. l2 isa view of a roofbuilt up of .shingles embodying my invention;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of one form of a completed plate constructed byapplicants machine, and w Fig. 14 is a side view of the completed plateshown in-Fig. 13.

In the illustrative embodiment of my invention I have shown in Fig. 1 asuitable frame structure including a pair of parallel side members 7, apair 'of parallel floor' members 8 and vertical supports 9. Othermembers for supporting and bracing purposes may be included so as-tosuitably support .stood .that the tank 10 is made 'of such mate-l rialwhich will be best suited to the nature of `the slurry used. The slurrypreferably. consists of4 the elements in proportions as pre- In order toform the slurry into suitable articles, such as flat plates or slabs orofvarious pieces of product such as shingles, preferably tapered, thereis provided a relatively large drum D, which is mounted upon atransverse shaft 14. This shaft is rotatably supported in bearings 15that are supported by the side frame members 7. More specifically, thisdrum comprises, as shown in Figs. 4 to 8, side members 16 and aperipheral portion 17 The peripheral portion could be formed of anysuitable material, such as wood, metal or the like. Fixed to each of theside members 16 is a bearing support 18, which has engagement withareduced end of the shaft 14, the member' 18 having an annular groove 19to receive the bearing 15. The drum periphery is provided with a seriesof parallel substantially rectangular chambers 20. Each chamber isseparated by an axially extending partition 21, which has recesses 22and 23, and a central recess which receives asealing strip 21a,preferably made of rubber and extending beyond the ends of Vthe chambers20 as indicated in Fig. 6. A ported supporting rib 24 extendscircumferimsasoa entially of the drum and is intermediate the ends ofthe chambers 20, thereby forming in effect two chambers. It will benoted that the bottom of each chamber 20 inclinesv upwardly toward thedrum periphery from the central portion adjacent the Asupport 24. Bars25 extending circumferentially of the drum are supported in the recesses22 and j 23. These bars, it will be noted, are successively s acedcloser together as the outer sides of the rum Aperiphery are reached,the purpose of which will appear in the description of the operation.Communicating with each chamber substantially adjacent the support-` ingrib 24 is a vacuum pipe 26, which extends radially within the drum andhas a lateral extension 27, which passes through the supporting hub 18and is secured in a hollow flanged member 28. The member 28 is suitablysecured to the hub'18 and has an angular passage 29 leading to itseriphery, thereby` to prevent air vleakage between the adjacent surfacesuitable packing 37 is provided.

From the above it will be seen that as the drum rotates each chamber 2Owill be subjected to a minimum vacuum of say Atenv pounds when thepassage 2971s 1n communi-v 30 in operative relation to the member 28,and v cation with the chamber 31. Upon further rotation of the drum thepassage 29 will be brought into communication with the chamber 32, andthereby allow a higher degree of vacuum to be formed in the drumchambers 20. Before completing one rotation of the drum the passage 29will .communicate with the atmosphere, as clearly indicated-in Fig. 8.

The object of this vacuum controlled mechanism is to permit the drum topick up or have accumulated on its periphery a substantiallypredetermined amount of slurry from the tank 1() as the drum rotatestherein, while the object ofthe successively closer spaced bars 25 andthe inclined bottom of the chambers 20 is to cause a relatively large'amount of plastic material or slurry to be accumuj lated adjacent theribl 24 while arelatively lesser amount of materialvwill be accumulatedat'the outer ends of the chambers 20. However, to prevent the plasticmaterial from being drawn through the spacing bars 25 there is provideda filtering cloth 40v coverlng the peripheral portion 17 of the drum andof a sufficient width to extend beyond the outer ends of the chambers20, thereby to be supported by the drum periphery as indicated at 4l. Toproperly position the filtering cloth on the drum periphery there isprovided at each side of the drum a peripheral flange 42, preferablymade'of rubber, and inserted within a peripheral drum groove, whilemetallic peripheral bands 43 disposed on the outside of the fianges 42prevent the latter from being forced out of shape. A The filtering clothmay be of any suitable material, such as silk,'linen, muslin,'wire guazeor other perforated material.

In order to aid 1n the forming of the plastic material intosubstantially desired shape and to aid in holding the articles totheperiphery of the drum over the chambers 2O there is provided flexiblemolding cords 44. preferably made from fishing line or other similarmaterial, which are supported in the form of endless belts by the drumperiphery on top of the `filtering cloth. These cords as hown in Figs.3, 4 and 5 are' successively spa ed closer togetheras the outsi'des ofthe drum periphery are reached. rlhe Ycords 44 lead off the drumperiphery to spacing groove inroller 45. The grooved roller 45 may besupported in any suitable manner and it is clear that it might beadjustably 'supported to vary the tension of the cords.

In order to initially press the plastic shin'- gles there is provided abelt 67 which engages an arcuate portion of the drurn. This presser beltleads off 'of the drum on to a guiding roller 68 and over and underguiding rollers 69, 70 and 71 back on to the drum. This presser beltwill have sufficient transverse flexibility so that the tapered sides ofthe articles will be properly engaged. If for any reason it should bedesired, itis obvious that the presser strip could be made separately,one part to cover each set of the parallel chambers in the drum. Inorder to exert further pressure, rollers 72 are carried on one end ofarms 73, the other ends of which are pivotally supported by a suitableframework 74. It will be noted that the length of the arms 73 diminishesas the upper rollers are reached, and. it will also be clear that theperiphery of these .rolls could taper inwardly towards their centralportion, thereby to con' form to the tapered portions of the articles,

or if desired, the rollers could be split at' their central portion. i

In order to clean the filtering cloth and cords and to provide thenecessary fluid such as Water for mixing the sand, fibres andl cement to.form the slurry there is provided within the tank 10 a transverselydisposed fiuid conducting pipe 75 which is provided with nozzle openingswhereby liquid is directed against the periphery of the dru-m. The blastof fluid will drive out any plastic material lodged in the openings ofthe filterg. @mi

ingcloth and on the cords, and by the cooperation of rotary brushes 76this material munication therewith as by pipes and 86,

leading into a main pipe- 87, Which in turn communicates with the tank81. Suitable pressure control valve mechanisms 88 and 89 are carried bythe tanks 83 and 84 respectively. It will be clear that these valvemecha.

nisms could be used to control the degree of pressure within each tankinaddition to the mechanism now to be described. The pipes Vhaveassociated with their horizontal 'portions 90 and 91 identical controlvalve mechanisms, so that the description of one will suflice for both.An adjustable valve 92 may be used for throttling purposes, and bysuitable adjustment any degree of vacuum could be obtained. A suitablyvalved bypass 93 furnishes a further adjustment for a vacuum condition.The tank 83 has communication Withthe chamber 32 as by the pipe 34,which is a continuation of a valved controlled pipe 95, leading from thetank 83. The' tank 84 vhas communication with the chamber 31 as by thepipe 33, and a suitably valved controlled pipe 96. As the vacuum in thevarious chambers 2O will cause water to be drawn fromvthe plasticshingles suitable means is provided for draining this water,

which will settle in the tanks 83, 84 and 81.

This means comprises pumps 97 98 and 99, communicating respectivelywith-the tanks 83, 84 and 81 by suitable pipes, all of which are adaptedto discharge into a suitable collecting pipe 100. The liquid socollected may be returned to the system, for such liquid would contain alarge percentage of cement and other material. A

The operation of the device so far described is as follows:

The filtering cloth 40 being secured to the periphery of the drum D willrotate therewith, being supported by the strips 25 and the partitions21', 24 and the end surfaces 41, the chambers 20'being separated by thesealing strips 21a. placed over the filtering'clzoth and are guided bythe grooved roller 45, and are in unequally spaced position on the drumperiphery. The dry sand, fibres and cement material is The spaced cordsyare charged into the tank 10 and the drum D rotates by a suitable beltpulley 105, which isfiXed to the drum shaft 14.- At the same time theagitators 13 will be rotated to mix vminimum vacuum chamber 31.

the sand, fibres and-cement materials with the fluid from the pipe 75and keep the slurry in a uniform condition. As the drum rotates those ofthe chambers or compartments 20 which are disposed within the slurrywill be subjected to a minimum vacuum as by connection of the passages29 with the The chamber 31 communicates with the minimum vacuum tank 84as by the pipes 93, 33, chamber 31, those of passages 29 which are incommunication therewith and the pipes 27 and 26. This will cause theslurry or plastic material to be drawn against the filtering cloth 40,andcords 44 conforming to the shape of the chambers 20 which it will beremembered is suitably supported upon the series of cross bars 25. Thethickness of the plastic material will be varied inaccordance with thedegree of vacuum, the successively closer spacing of the bars 25 and tothe inclined bottoms of the chambers 20. It has been found that such aconstruction will cause a lesser amount of material to be held adjacentthe relatively closer spaced bars 25 than will be held adjacent thewidely spaced bars. By the vacuum the plastic material will be held verytightly against the filtering cloth and cords, which cords will have a,tendency'tov be embedded in the undersurface of the article, thus aidingin maintaining the article on the periphery of the drum,

as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. As the portion of the drum submergedin the slurry is rotated therefrom in a counter clockwise direction.Ithe chambersV 20 will be subjected to a higher degree of vacuum due tothe passages 29 coming into communication .with the chamber 32. Thispermits the tank 83 to be placed in communication with each of thechambers as through pipes 95, 34, chamber 32, passage 29 and the pipes27.1and 26. The passages 29 rotate with the drum due to the connectionof the member 28 with the hub 18, while the valve casing 30 remainsstationary. With the chambers in the upper right hand portion vbeingsubjected to a higher vacuum it will be clear that water will be drawnfrom the plastic articles upon the drum, and this water Will finallysettle in the tanks 83, 84 and 81, from which it will be drawn as by thepumps 97, 98 and 99, andV discharged into thecollecting pipe 100.vDuring the period that the articles are being subjected to the highervacuum they will be in contact with the pressing belt 67, and bylcooperation therewith of the series of rollers 72 even more water willbe squeezed out than otherwise, and the up er surface of the articlemade uniform. sthe drum continues to rotate the passages 29 will finallycome into Y communication with the atmosphere, thereby permitting theremoval of the formed a1'- ticles from the drum. It will be noted thatduring this period the cords are gradually 46 which directs them to asuitable conveying mechanism to permit further operations to beperformed thereon.

In the manufacture of some plastic articles such as shingles it may bedesirable to provide a means for coloring or coating the article or aportion thereof. Coloring or coating spray guns 47 may be provided forspraying coloring or coating material to the articles as the drumrotates and when the articles on the drum are at a minimum vacuum. Asthe drum rotates and is subjected to a higher degree of vacuum due tothe passages 29 coming into communication with the chamber 32 thecoloring or coating-material on the surface of the article will ,bedrawn into the surface of the plastic article, creat-- ing a substantialthickness ofl coloring or coating surface. l

After discharging a plastic article from the cords it is further pressedand then the large or thickened end thereof is or may be scored, pittedor roughened. The means for accomplishing these ends comprises a plate46 and an endless belt conveyor 110, suitably supported and disposed soas",` to receive the articles S from the cords. The conveyor 110 couldbe driven by any suitable'means and is adapted tok discharge upon aconveyor 111 of the final pressing mechanism. As shown in Fig. 9, theconveyor 111 comprises a series of relatively small rollers beneathwhich and in contact with is a belt 112, which passes over guidingrollers 113, and is held in fric-v tional Contact with the rollers as byholding rollers 114. When the belt 112 is driven in a clockwisedirection, the rollers 111 will be rotated so as to convey the plates orshingles between a pairof cooperating press rollers 115 and'116. Theserollers may be supported in any suitable manner, such as a woodenframework or the like. The upper surface of the rollers 111 will besubstantially tangent to the surface of the lower roll 116, theserollers being spaced apart adjacent the pressing. rolls so as to allowthe latter to have full pressing contact with both sides of thearticles. The periphery of the rolls is tapered with the narrowerportion in the center, thereby allowing the large end of the taperedarticle to pass between the rollers, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.10. The upper roller is also, adjustable by any suitable means in orderto press shingles or other articles of different thicknesses. The lower'roller is driven by any suitable means, which herein is shown as amotor 117 and suitable driving gearing 118 for` connecting the motor androller 116.

After the articles have passed through the pressing rollers it issometimes desired to score the upper surface thereof, although bothsurfaces could be scored if desired, and to accomplish this the articlesare first turned so that their longitudinal axes will be parallel withthe direction of travel. The means for turning the articles from thetransverse position as shown in Fig. 10 to the longitudinal positioncomprises a pair of guiding abutment walls 119, which lie over aconveyor belt 120, and terminate adjacent the end of the roller conveyor111. A pair of secondary flared guiding walls 121 terminate some-whatshort of the extended ends of the walls 119, thereby` permitting thearticles S as they come from the conveyor 111 to engage the extendedends of the walls 119 at a point offset from the center of gravity ofthe article, and upon continued movement of the article due to theconveyor 111, the outer end of the article will be swung around on tothe conwhereby it will be carried forwardly on the conveyor 120 andproperly guided between a scoring mechanism.

The scoring mechanism comprises a rolle 122 for supporting the articlesas they are run under scoring rollers 123. The scoring rollers mighthave any suitable design formed on their periphery so as to mark theupper side of the large end of a tapered shingle accordingly, but therollers are specically shown as provided with a series of peripheralV-shaped grooves. The rollers 123 are suitably spaced from thesupporting rollers 122 so that onlya portion of the upper surface of thearticle will be scored. After passing through the scoring mechanism the`articles may be discharged from the belt 122 on to any suitable device125. Instead of turning the shingles prior to marking thereof they maybe fed through the scoring ,mechanism in a transverse position therebytransversely marking the shingles. lf a longitudinal marking is desiredwithout turning the shingle the scoring roller could have its peripheryprovided with axially extending grooves.v

While have specifically shown a drum with which the filtering cloth andcords may cooperate, it will be clear that the cloth and c`ords might bemade to pass in a flat plane, in which position a flat conveyor beltcould be used for supporting the cloth and cords and that other ormodified apparatus could be used to produce the shingle.

By applying this. invention to artificial slate or shingle manufactureit is noted that .by .tapering the slate or shingle, material is savedin addition to providing a' slate or shingle made from plastic materialwhich has all of the requisite structural qualities. It

is also apparent from the general principles employed in my machine thatthe shingle edges could be made irregular, so as to glve the effect thatthe slate or shingle hadbeen shaped merely by chipping offwith a hammer,suchas is done with certain types of quarried natural slates orshingles. As shown in Fig. 11 the upper exposed surface could be given adesired irregular shape. This surface could also be given the effect asthough having beenv chipped simply by suitably designing the peripheryof either the scoring or pressing rolls. Obviously, if desired astraight reciprocating type of press might be used. Even though theshingle be provided with a highly irregular or rough-l ened surface,still they may be laid Without any trouble due to the thin end of theslate or shingle being smooth as is also preferably the lower surface ofthe large end. However, if desiredthe lower slate or shingle surfaceadjacent only the edges of the large end may be given this chippedappearance, thereby leaving the remaining under surface fiat so as tofacilitate laying of the tapered slates or shingles.

The method of this invention isespecially adaptable to the production ofthe slates, slabs or shingles having the composition above set forth.More specifically, the proportions of the respective elements areasbestos fibre about 9;/8" long 5%, asbestos short fibre 20%, sand 30%,and cement 45%, but preferably for thin or very thin plates, cleanasbestos fibrefrom about 1/8 to 3/8 long 15%, sand containing not lessthan 95% of free silicon dioxide (Si02) 80%, and Portland or hydrauliccement 55%. The suction draws the slurry against the filtering cloth andcollects it there, and the continued suction tends to draw the lightermore fluid elements of the slurry inwardly through the mass so as tomake it morecompact and solid, and to stop up any open pores. Theresulting slates or shingles, while conforming in general outline toeach other, will differ in details of surfacing so that no twoslates orshingles will be exactly alike. The suction effect at the surface,depending at every point on the accumulation and matting of the materialbeneath can be made when desired toA give a widely variable roughenedappearance tothe surface. The thickness and taper may be readily variedby altering the amount and distribution of the suction. By making theedges of the suction chambers irregular where they Contact with thefiltering cloth or belt 40, the edges of the shingle will becorrespondingly increased in irregularity to any desired extent, togive, for instance, the effect of edges hand-chipped by a hammer as withsome types of quarried natural sLates 0r shingles. A similar effectlcould be produced by suitably forming the periphery of either thescoring or pressing rolls. The

- irregular formation of the supporting means i and filler, said bresbeing matted by de beneath the filtering cloth, resulting in a variablesuction effect across the slate or shingle with corresponding localareas of thinness or depression.

The slates, slabs or shingles are composed" of a wearing, weather-proofcomposition consisting 0f sand, as above described, cement and fibres.The fibres are embedded throughout the composition and are matted andentangled by the suction action and subsequent pressing so as to besubstantially parallel to the surface of the slate or shingle. Theparallel formation of the fibres through the slate or shinglestrengthens the product and also aids in combining the sand and cement,as above described, into a strong homogeneous mass.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No.92,730, filed March 6, 1926, Plastic article and method and 'apparatusfor making the same.

I claim: y

1. As an article of manufacture, a tapered plate consisting of a solidhomogeneous mass of colloided cement such as Portland cement depositedand set together to form the entire thickness .ofthe plate, and fibresdistributed throughout the set cement, said fibres'being matted bydeposit with the cement in such manner that the fibres are generallyparallel to the plane of said article to strengthen the plate againsttransverse stresses.

2. As an article of manufacture, a taperedv plate consisting of a solidhomogeneous mass of colloided cement such as Portland cement with aninert filler deposited and set together to form the entire thickness ofthe plate, and fibres distributed throughout the set cement posit withthe cement and filler in suchmanner that the fibres are generallyparallel to the plane of said article to strengthen the plate againsttransverse stresses.

3. As an article of manufacture, a tapered plate consisting of a solidhomogeneous mass of colloided cement such as Portland cement with sanddeposited and set together to form the entire thickness of the plate andfibres distributed throughout the set cement and sand, said bres beingmatted by deposit with the cement and sand in such manner that thefibres are generally parallel to the 5. As an article of manufacture aplate comprising a body portion of cement, sand and fibres, 'said fibresrunning generally parallel to the plane of said plate, said .platehaving a greater compactness of sand, cement and libres, toward itsunder surface as the lighter particles of sand, cement and fibres aredrawn inwardlytoward the under surfacein the manufacture of said plate.

6. As an article of manufacture a plate consisting of a solidhomogeneous mass of hydraulic cement with a granular filling materialdeposited and set together to form the entire thickness o f the plate,and fibres distributed throughout the set cement and filling material,said fibres being matted by deposit With the cement and material in suchmanner that the fibres are generally parallel to the plane of the platewhereby it is strpn thened. against transverse stresses. consisting of ahomogeneous mass of colloided cement deposited and set to form theentire thickness of the plate, and fibres distributed throughout the setcement, said fibres being matted by deposit with the cement in thecourse of manufacture whereby they are disposed in general parallelismwith the plane of the plate, strengthening it against transversestresses.

8. As an article of manufacture, a plate comprising a'body portion ofcement, sand and fibers, said plate being more compact towards its underside as the lighter particles of cement, sand and fibres are drawninward towardv the under surface in vmanufacture, and having asubstantial depth of colorin material at its upper, less-compact side,sai coloring material extending inward from the upper surface of theplate.

RICHARD V. MATTISON.

plane of said article t'o strengthen the. plate against transversestresses.

4. As an article of manufacture a plate comprising a body portion ofcement, sand and libres, said plate having a 'reater compactness ofcement, sand and A ,y bres toward 1ts under surface as the lighterparticles of cement, sand and libres are drawn inwardly ctoward theunder surface in the manufacture of said plate. y

s an article of manufacture a plate

